Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is one of my family’s favorite cuts of meat. It’s pretty much a staple at our house.

And this Slow Cooker Cranberry Orange Pork Tenderloin is fancy enough to serve for Christmas dinner!

The best part is, fancy doesn’t mean difficult. This pork tenderloin is so easy to make. And since it’s done in the slow cooker, you’ll have plenty of room in the oven for all your side dishes.

We made this last night and it was fantastic! My husband and I both agreed it will go in our recipe book. We will definitely make it again. Would also be perfect for a family gathering or dinner party. ~ Chrissi

Cranberry and orange is such a great combination of flavors too, especially for the holidays. And don’t be afraid of the golden raisins that are thrown into the mix.

My family was skeptical, but they add a wonderful sweetness. Basically, we loved everything about this pork roast–including the golden raisins.

With the fresh cranberries and orange juice, the raisins cook down into this wonderful, chutney-like sauce that’s the perfect accompaniment to slices of this tender, delicious cut of pork.

Not only does this tenderloin taste amazing, it makes a beautiful presentation on your holiday table too. Your friends and family will think you spent hours in the kitchen!

They don’t need to know the truth. That you’ll need about 10 minutes of prep time to get this roast ready to go into the slow cooker.

Made this today for supper–delicious! Thanks for the recipe. ~ Regenia

While the roast cooks, you’ll have plenty of time to spend with family and finish up your other holiday menu items.

Just before serving, you’ll simmer the sauce from the slow cooker with some cranberries and raisins, and dinner is served.

I tested this recipe on my family before settling on it for our Christmas dinner main dish. The vote was unanimous! We all want this Cranberry Orange Pork Tenderloin on our holiday table!

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides, about 5-6 minutes total. Transfer the pork to a lightly greased, 6-quart slow cooker.

Add the cranberries, raisins, orange juice, honey and garlic to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours, or until a thermometer reads 145 degrees. Remove pork to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, strain the liquid from the slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a medium saucepan, reserving the cranberries and raisins. Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then whisk into the liquid from the slow cooker.

Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened. Stir in the reserved cranberries and raisins. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the pork with the sauce, and fresh parsley and orange slices to garnish, if desired.

I have a question as well as to whether you are using a pork loin roast or pork tenderloin in this recipe. The picture looks like a pork loin roast and that is what you specify in your ingredient list but your title says “tenderloin”. Choosing a pork tenderloin is a smaller cut of meat and would influence the cook time. I would like to use a pork loin roast for Christmas Eve and this recipe looks great – can you advise whether I should cook for longer or not?

You can use either. I have done both. The cook time in the recipe is for a 2-3 pound roast, so I would base your cooking time on that. If your roast is larger, then you would probably want to increase the cook time accordingly. I would also suggest using a meat thermometer and cook to the suggested temperature in the recipe of 145 degrees. Then you can adapt to whatever size and cut of meat you are using and be sure that the roast is done.

We made this last night and it was fantastic! My husband and I both agreed it will go in our recipe book. We will definitely make it again. Would also be perfect for a family gathering or dinner party.